Ethiopian athlete Lamecha Girma left the track on a stretcher after suffering a nasty fall toward the end of the men's 3000m steeplechase final.
Girma, 23, was just pushing for the lead and had moved into second when approaching the hurdle, but tripped over the obstacle and landed hard on his back. Girma stayed down and didn't move, and was quickly attended to by medics on-site at the Stade de France . As reported by L'Equipe , Girma has since regained consciousness and been transferred to hospital.
The athlete clinched the silver medal in the contest at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago and was in a brilliant position to replicate his success if not push for gold. Girma was then cheered as he left the stadium on a stretcher, with fans giving him a standing ovation.
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Girma is the world record holder of the 3000m men's steeplechase, clocking in a time of 7:52.11 in Paris last year. Girma also holds the indoor record with a time of 7:23.81, beating the previous best set in 1998 by 1.09 seconds.
Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco ended up defending his title with a time of 8:06.05. Kenneth Rooks finished in second to claim another silver medal for Team USA, and Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya claimed bronze.
Despite his world record, Girma has never won a gold medal in any championships. The Ethiopian made his professional debut in 2019 as a 19-year-old and won silver at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
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Girma has also won silver at the World Championships in 2022 and 2023, but is expected to dominate in the future. Ethiopia's Olympic Committee will be hoping that Girma hasn't suffered any lasting damage after the fall in Paris.
It appears that Girma's pain came from the weight of the impact, and it's expected to be a very painful recovery process. However, specialists will examine Girma to uncover if any further damage has been done.
Girma has spent his whole life training with his brothers, and has revealed that running has made his parents very proud. The athlete believes that the sport has changed his life for the better. "I love running. The sport has completely changed my life," Girma said ahead of Paris.
"I run for my name now. The world knows me because of running. It’s introduced me to many things and enabled me to travel around the world. Now, I’ve traveled to so many countries and met many important people. If I didn’t start running I wouldn’t know these places or have met these people and built those relationships."
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